Population-Health-Environment (PHE) Synergies Evidence from USAID-sponsored Programs in African and Asian core Conservation Areas

Do Population-Health-Environment (PHE) initiatives provide synergies above and beyond more traditional singular efforts? Some development practitioners note the potential to combine solutions to population-environment (PE) together with health-environment (HE) initiatives for the global conservatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: David Lopez-Carr, Daniel Ervin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association of Geographers 2017-01-01
Series:European Journal of Geography
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Online Access:https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/307
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Summary:Do Population-Health-Environment (PHE) initiatives provide synergies above and beyond more traditional singular efforts? Some development practitioners note the potential to combine solutions to population-environment (PE) together with health-environment (HE) initiatives for the global conservation of natural resources in developing countries while simultaneously improving human health and livelihood security. PHE advocates in the policy arena have promoted the importance of integrating “conservation, health, and family planning (FP) interventions” in the management of some of the world’s most socio-economically impoverished as well as ecologically rich environments. However, scant scholarly evidence supports these claims. In this paper, we probe the potential effectiveness of integrated PHE investments for conservation outcomes. Data was collected in World Wildlife Fund (WWF) designated high priority marine and terrestrial conservation sites with USAID-sponsored PHE programs in the Philippines, Nepal, India, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. We conducted individual and focus-group interviews with 754 individuals: WWF staff, staff from partner health and environment organizations, and local men and women in the program service areas. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate diverse, and in some cases dramatic, improvements in maternal and child health and conservation measures that overall appeared to benefit from the integrative PHE approach. Results also point toward the importance of promoting PHE interventions within the framework of livelihood improvement.
ISSN:1792-1341
2410-7433